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Christie picks up private-sector labor support

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who made his name in his first year in office tangling with public-sector unions, picked up the early backing of a major private-sector labor group Tuesday that supported his Democratic rival Jon Corzine in their 2009 race.

“The people in this room are the backbone of New Jersey,” Christie told members of the Laborers International Union of North America at an endorsement rally on Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported. “When you’re busy, when you’re working and making money to support your family, New Jersey is doing well.”

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The labor nod, coming nearly a year before Election Day and while the Democratic field is still emerging, comes as the Republican governor is seeking to show he can appeal to the blue state’s broad swath of Democratic voters. And it serves as a contrast to another Republican governor, Michigan’s Rick Snyder, who has seen his approval ratings plummet since he signed the first right-to-work bill into law in his state’s history.

The group, which praised Christie’s backing of a ballot initiative to spur new construction activity statewide, has backed Republicans before, such as Christine Todd Whitman in 1997.

But for Christie, it provides a sense of momentum, and the chance to show strength to some of his strongest potential challengers, like Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Union Vice President Raymond Pocino said, “We make this endorsement today not as a favor but because we believe in you, governor…You’ve earned the right to finish the job you started.”

Christie won some legislative battles against public sector labor by getting support from the private sector groups in the past.